The study also suggests that some of these elements are more effective
than the others. The most important element of an effective apology is
acknowledging your responsibility. If something is your fault, say that it is.
The second most important element is your offer of repair. If you say that you
want to fix things, and explain how, your apology will go a lot further.

Interesting on a number of
fronts, especially if we compare it to our apologies to God, i.e. confession of
sin, both private and publicly in worship.

True confession does not excuse
our sin; it acknowledges our sin and our personal responsibility for it. True confession also includes the element of
making things better by reparative action.
Our forgiveness is not based on our promise of reparation, but it
certainly leads to an active effort to put things right.

The study even uses the term
“repentance”, although that is not defined in the summary. (Sorry, the actual
article would cost $6 to read online, so I am just going with the reported
summaries.)

However, the really intriguing
element was that asking for forgiveness was the least effective element in a
good apology. It seems that fallen humans are just not good at forgiving. What a contrast with the God of all grace and
mercy:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity…
( Psalm 103)

I thought it would be useful to
compare the scientific study with the traditional Reformed teaching on
repentance as expressed in the Larger Catechism, (Modern Language Edition) I
think that we can see all 6 elements of a perfect apology in this biblical
based definition:

Larger Catechism

Q. 76.
What is repentance unto life?

A.
Repentance unto life is a saving grace worked in the hearts of sinners by the
Spirit and the word of God. By it sinners recognize not only how dangerous it
is to commit sins but also how filthy and hateful they are to God.
Understanding that in Christ God is merciful to those who repent, sinners
suffer such deep sorrow for and hate their sins so much that they turn away
from all of them and turn to God, attempting to walk continually with him
according to this new obedience in every way.

Our apologies to those against
whom we sin should, in some measure, be modeled on our apologies to God. If
they are, we might find that they are more effective than the vacuous and
generic “Sorry” that really is just a reflex reaction to the fact that our
misdeeds have caused us hurt and we are forced to issue an insincere apology.

A retired minister, aged 69, was
involved in a serious accident and found guilty of dangerous driving. As the Herald reports it: “A CHURCH of
Scotland minister who opposed a gay man’s appointment as a minister has been
fined £500 and had his licence endorsed after he caused a car crash that left a
pensioner with serious injuries.”

A number of questions need to be
asked here. Is the event newsworthy?
Probably. Is the headline in any way
related to the case? Absolutely
not. It seems that in 2009 the minister
opposed the ordination of the first openly gay minister in a civil partnership
and had the temerity to say at the General Assembly that there was ““a danger
that we will make a decision about homosexuality in the ministry based on the
prevailing culture of our time”.

How in any way does the fact that
a retired minister opposed homosexual conduct mark him out as worthy of
denigration? It is only the fact that
the Herald is engaged in a pro-homosexual propaganda campaign that causes this
particular headline to be written. Why
was the headline not “Bible believing minister who upholds the traditional
Christian ethic on sex and marriage fined over crash that injured pensioner”? Is it now the case that the minority of
Church of Scotland ministers who hold to orthodox theology and ethics are to be
marked out for such contemptuous treatment?

The logical fallacy of
association, or more popularly “guilt by association”, is so basic that any
novice journalist should be aware of it.
However, as with all informal logical fallacies, it can be knowingly
used to tarnish an opponent’s position. This is exactly what the Herald is
trying to do – all ministers who oppose sodomy or homosexual practices in
members of the church are disreputable characters, the kind of characters who
will drive dangerously.

I should make clear that I am
making no comment on the actual issue of the traffic accident, on whether the
driver lost concentration or fell asleep at the wheel. What I am commenting on
is that ministers who hold to a biblical position can now be pejoratively dismissed
in the popular press.

The Herald has not allowed
comment on this article. This may be
because of some legal issue of which I am not aware, or it may be because they
do not wish to have their shoddy journalistic standards exposed.

Friday, 1 April 2016

Evangelicals are suckers; they
are naive fools who are too ready to believe the empty promises of liberals
that if only same sex marriage is allowed for office-bearers the conscience of
evangelicals will be respected.

I have two counter-examples. One is the promise given to the naïve evangelicals
in the sixties who believed that the introduction of woman’s ordination was
simply permissive legislation and no church or individual would be forced to
conform to this practice. Well, at least
we can say that they waited 25 years before they reneged on this promise.

Liberals it seems are no longer
as patient. No sooner does the PCUSA
allow the ordination of candidates in same sex relations, than it reneges on
all its promises to the dumb evangelicals who believed the nonsense of reconciled
diversity, mutual toleration and forbearance, and broad church co-operation. How long did it take? Five years!

This is so blatant that even some
of the more moderate liberals are appalled. Read the testimony of one of them:

“BREACH OF FAITH: Why the Apology
Overture is So Wrong by Barbara G. Wheeler”

Now of course the Church of
Scotland evangelicals will say that this is the USA and our home-grown liberals
are models of integrity who would never do such a terrible thing. As I say, “Suckers!”, or to use the more
biblical term, “Fools!”

“The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

About Me

With degrees in both philosophy and theology, I have lived and worked in the UK, West Africa (working in theological education) and the USA. As a Teaching Elder I served for 19 years in the Church of Scotland and 4 years in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (USA). I am a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and a member in St Andrews Free Church, Fife.

I am married to my wonderful wife Aileen, who has supported and moulded me over 40 years of marriage - an ongoing project that may yet pay dividends, although it requires great patience on her part.